2017 world rowing

A driverless vehicle could ease parking at Nathan Benderson Park or the University Town Center development.

The EZ10, a 12-person vehicle, was on display at the Mall at University Town Center on Monday. The new technology from France-based Easy Mile is designed to be the final step in commutes, whether to a college campus, a business community, a downtown area or a retail development.

Such driverless vehicles are expected to roll out in a dozen markets nationally this year, said Dick Alexander, the executive vice president of business development Transdev, the transit operator that is one of the sponsors behind a U.S. tour by the EZ10. Alexander already has about 45 requests for the units.

There are no formal plans to operate the EZ10 at University Town Center or at nearby Nathan Benderson Park, said Todd Mathes, director of development for Manatee-based Benderson Development Co., which developed the mall with Michigan-based Taubman Properties. But Mathis added that he was thrilled to have the vehicles in the area for demonstrations and testing. The technology could eventually allow for greater connectivity between the mall, the park and Benderson’s other developments in the Interstate 75 and University Parkway corridor.

“It’s an exciting technology from our perspective,” Mathes said. “It would provide that connector between all of our properties, eventually. So we were excited to be able to talk to them and do this little demo. You’ve got to beg these guys because everyone is courting them, from Paris to Hong Kong.”

The companies ran tests on Saturday in Nathan Benderson Park to see if it was a viable parking assistance option for the 2017 World Rowing Championships, which are expected to attract more than 40,000 spectators to Southwest Florida in September.

The roughly 85-square-foot, electric vehicles travel on a programmed route loaded into its navigation system and can be monitored from an off-site control room. The shuttle has no steering wheel and no dedicated front or back, said Vasilis Karavidas, development engineer for Easy Mile. Laser technology allows the vehicle to sense when something or someone has crossed into its path and to stop.

“If somebody stops in front of the bus, we decelerate and then wait until they go away,” Karavidas said. “It has the lasers, and that decides how fast it will decelerate.”

The Transdev and Easy Mile teams also plan to showcase the vehicle in Atlanta; New Orleans; Los Angeles; San Jose, California; and Arlington, Texas, in coming weeks. The shuttles can operate on private property but need a little more legislative leeway to operate on public roads, making University Town Center a viable spot for one of the earliest launches.

“I think the early adopters will be developers because it’s private land and the operating rules are a little different,” Alexander said. “Legislatively, the public hasn’t quite caught up with the technology yet. It’s happening, and it’s happening more in Florida than it’s happening in most states.”